Programm „Lernende Regionen“: Förderung nach regionalen Gegebenheiten

According to the current DIW Berlin Weekly Report (Wochenbericht 35/2004), it is likely that networks operating in attractive regional environments have a more positive influence on local learning and innovation processes than networks operating in less favourable economic environments with weak labour markets. This issue of the Wochenbericht studies the “Learning Regions – Providing Support for Networks” programme, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and is currently providing support to 73 networks in different regions and regional contexts in an effort to generate a new learning culture.

DIW Berlin believes that the decisive factor for the successful development of regional learning cultures via networks and actors is that the activities of the networks be tuned to the specific needs of the regions where they operate. Increased effort must be invested in less-developed regions to combat obstacles to innovation and learning and to push forward the development of a new learning culture. The approach adopted by the Learning Regions – Providing Support for Networks programme takes account of the singularity of local conditions in that it promotes the development of new learning cultures in different ways in the different regions. Providing exactly the same type of support to all the regions would make no sense. Regionalised aid policy, by contrast, offers broad possibilities to implement strategies that are tailored to the causes and the specific problems found in a region. In addition, the endeavour to stimulate development processes by involving and cooperating with local actors ensures that the location factors and specialisations of the individual regions are given greater consideration than in programmes designed with a national reach.